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Burgesses of Preston, Lancashire, and other members of Preston guild merchant
(1397-1682)Freedom of the borough of Preston was necessary to trade in the town. The guild merchant maintained rolls of the burgesses, which were renewed every Preston guild, held every twenty years. The surviving rolls from 1397 to 1682 were edited by W. Alexander Abram, and published by the Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society in 1884 (volume ix). Each roll contains, firstly, a list of In-Burgesses, i. e., burgess inhabitants of the town, with the names of any adult sons eligible by way of inheritance to the freedom; then Foreign Burgesses (Burgenses Forinseci), i. e., those persons living outside the town who had acquired the freedom, plus the names of any adult sons; finally, there is a list of those who were not burgesses by inheritance, but had purchased freedom of the town. The only women to appear in these lists are three ladies in 1397, who were perhaps widows of burgesses. The text covers the rolls for the guilds merchant held in 1397 (20 Richard II: pages 1 to 7), 1415 (7 Henry V: 7-11), 1459 (37 Henry VI: 11-15), 1542 (34 Henry VIII: 15-19), 1562 (4 Elizabeth: 20-31), 1582 (24 Elizabeth: 31-46), 1602 (44 Elizabeth: 46-65), 1622 (20 James I: 65-94), 1642 (18 Charles I: 94-123), 1662 (14 Charles II: 123-159), and 1682 (34 Charles II: 160-202).

BROUNLOWE. Cost: £4.00.

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Masters of Apprentices registered at Leicester
(1715-1717)Apprenticeship indentures and clerks' articles were subject to a 6d or 12d per pound stamp duty: the registers of the payments usually give the master's trade, address, and occupation, and the apprentice's father's name and address, as well as details of the date and length of the apprenticeship. There are central registers for collections of the stamp duty in London, as well as returns from collectors in the provinces. These collectors generally received duty just from their own county, but sometimes from further afield. Because of the delay before some collectors made their returns, this register includes indentures and articles from as early as 1714. (The sample entry shown on this scan is taken from a Norfolk return)